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First Mover Americas: Bitcoin Drops to Lowest Since August as U.S. Stocks Slide

The latest price moves in crypto markets in context for Sept. 4, 2024.

Updated Sep 4, 2024, 12:01 p.m. Published Sep 4, 2024, 12:01 p.m.
BTC price, FMA Sept. 4 2024 (CoinDesk)
(CoinDesk)

This article originally appeared in First Mover, CoinDesk’s daily newsletter, putting the latest moves in crypto markets in context. Subscribe to get it in your inbox every day.

Latest Prices

CoinDesk 20 Index: 1,786.39 −3.8%

STORY CONTINUES BELOW
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Bitcoin (BTC): $56,607.61 −4.24%

Ether (ETH): $2,395.39 −4.4%

S&P 500: 5,528.93 −2.12%

Gold: $2,488.75 −0.17%

Nikkei 225: 37,047.61 −4.24%

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Bitcoin fell below $56,000 during the Asian morning, the lowest since Aug. 8, reversing nearly all of the past month's gains. BTC subsequently recovered some ground, trading above $56,500, still more than 4% lower in the last 24 hours. The CoinDesk 20 Index (CD20), a broad measure of the digital asset market, has fallen around 3.5%. U.S. stocks tracked by the Nasdaq 100 and S&P 500 indexes fell as much as 3.5% on Tuesday to kick off a historically bearish September as weak U.S. manufacturing data reignited concerns over an economic slowdown. The move spread to Asian markets with Japan's Nikkei 225 sliding more than 4%.

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Bitcoin mining profitability is stuck at record lows, JPMorgan said in a new research report. "We estimate bitcoin miners earned an average of $43,600 per EH/s in daily block reward revenue in August, the lowest point on record," the analysts wrote. That compares with a peak value of $342,000 in November 2021, when the BTC price was $60,000 and the network hashrate was 161 EH/s. The network hashrate, a proxy for competition in the industry and mining difficulty, increased for the second straight month in August, JPMorgan noted. "The network hashrate averaged 631 EH/s in August, up 16 EH/s from last month, and about 20 EH/s below prehalving levels," the authors wrote.

Crypto derivatives protocol Volmex Finance unveiled a new implied volatility index for Solana's SOL token to measure expected price swings in the world's fifth-largest cryptocurrency. The SVIV index measures forward-looking 14-day expected volatility in SOL, Volmex said in an email to CoinDesk. Traders can track the index to see the degree of potential SOL price swings (in either direction) over the following two weeks. Volmex said it will eventually debut longer-duration SOL implied volatility indices, including the popular 30-day gauge and derivatives linked to that, allowing market participants to place bets on volatility. Perpetual futures tied to Volmex's bitcoin implied volatility index and the ether index have been trading on Bitfinex since early April.

Chart of the Day

COD FMA, Sept. 4 2024 (Amberdata)
(Amberdata)
  • Bitcoin's seven-day options skew has dropped to three-week lows, indicating a renewed demand for puts offering downside protection.
  • It's a sign of traders preparing for a more profound price drop in the wake of renewed U.S. growth concerns and NVDA's sell-off.
  • Source: Amberdata
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- Omkar Godbole

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CoinDesk Data's monthly Exchange Review captures the key developments within the cryptocurrency exchange market. The report includes analyses that relate to exchange volumes, crypto derivatives trading, market segmentation by fees, fiat trading, and more.

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Trading activity softened in March as market uncertainty grew amid escalating tariff tensions between the U.S. and global trading partners. Centralized exchanges recorded their lowest combined trading volume since October, declining 6.24% to $6.79tn. This marked the third consecutive monthly decline across both market segments, with spot trading volume falling 14.1% to $1.98tn and derivatives trading slipping 2.56% to $4.81tn.

  • Trading Volumes Decline for Third Consecutive Month: Combined spot and derivatives trading volume on centralized exchanges fell by 6.24% to $6.79tn in March 2025, reaching the lowest level since October. Both spot and derivatives markets recorded their third consecutive monthly decline, falling 14.1% and 2.56% to $1.98tn and $4.81tn respectively.
  • Institutional Crypto Trading Volume on CME Falls 23.5%: In March, total derivatives trading volume on the CME exchange fell by 23.5% to $175bn, the lowest monthly volume since October 2024. CME's market share among derivatives exchanges dropped from 4.63% to 3.64%, suggesting declining institutional interest amid current macroeconomic conditions. 
  • Bybit Spot Market Share Slides in March: Spot trading volume on Bybit fell by 52.1% to $81.1bn in March, coinciding with decreased trading activity following the hack of the exchange's cold wallets in February. Bybit's spot market share dropped from 7.35% to 4.10%, its lowest since July 2023.

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Solana CME Futures Fell Short of BTC and ETH Debuts, but There's a Catch

Solana CME futures first-day activity compared to BTC and ETH debuts. (CME/K33 Research)

When adjusted for asset market capitalization SOL's relative futures volume looks better, K33 Research noted.

Cosa sapere:

  • Solana's SOL futures began trading on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) on Monday, with a notional daily volume of $12.3 million and $7.8 million in open interest, significantly lower than the debuts of bitcoin (BTC) and ether (ETH) futures.
  • Despite the seemingly lackluster debut, when adjusted to market value, SOL's first-day figures are more in line with BTC's and ETH's, according to K33 Research.
  • Despite the bearish market conditions, the launch of CME SOL futures offers new ways for institutions to manage their exposure to the token, said Joshua Lim of FalconX.